Background
Click here for background on the proposed amendment to the 1958 Switchblade Act.

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It's been three months since the U.S. Senate passed Amendment 1447, which would protect assisted openers by amending the 1958 Switchblade Act. Not much has changed since then, but much is on the horizon.

It is now up to the U.S. House of Representatives to work on its version of the measure, H.R. 2892. Once the House and the Senate come to an agreement on the amendment, it will go to President Barack Obama for signature as part of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

However, as Knife Rights and the American Knife & Tool Institute point out on their Web site, the amendment could be dropped from that appropriations bill and never sent to the president for signature. Knife advocates showed support for the inclusion of the amendment during a lobby day Sept. 16 in Washington, D.C.

As the House works on the amendment, knife enthusiasts can show their support by contacting representatives on the DHS Appropriations Committee. They are listed here, as compiled by Knife Rights:

California:

Ken Calvert (R-44th)

Sam Farr (D-17th)

Jerry Lewis (R-41st)

Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-34th)

Illinois:

Mark Steven Kirk (R-10th)

Kentucky:

Harold Rogers (R-5th)

Maryland:

C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-2nd)

New Jersey:

Steven R. Rothman (D-9th)

New York:

Nita M. Lowey (D-18th)

Jose E. Serrano (D-16th)

North Carolina:

David E. Price (D-4th)

Texas:

John R. Carter (R-31st)

John Abney Culberson (R-7th)

Ciro Rodriguez (D-23rd)

West Virginia:

Alan B. Mollohan (D-1st)

Wisconson:

David R. Obey (D-7th)